President John Mahama on Thursday blasted the Minority in Parliament for accusing him of throwing the country into huge debt due to unbridled borrowing.

AFOKO CHARGED FOR ADAMS MURDER

The Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service has officially charged Gregory Afoko – brother of Paul Afoko, suspended National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party – who was arrested in connection with the fatal acid attack on Adams Mahama, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the party, with murder.

PAN LATRINES STILL IN USE IN ACCRA 7 YEARS AFTER SUPREME COURT OUTLAWED IT

Seven years the Supreme Court outlawed the use of pan latrines in Accra, the status quo virtually remains the same. Pan latrines are still being used in some parts of Accra, especially Adabraka, Kotobabi, Bukom, Nima, Pig Farm, Madina, Accra New Town, among others.

4,500 KIDS DIE OF DIARRHEA IN JUST 1 YEAR

Poor sanitation and open defecation, which continue to be the bane of the Ghanaian society, has robbed the nation of over 4,500 of its youth through the outbreak of diarrhea in 2014 alone.

I WON’T JOIN MAHAMA IN THE GUTTER – NITIWUL

Minority members in Parliament are livid at President John Mahama for suggesting they sleep in the House and allow loans to be approved without proper scrutiny.

NPP WILL REMAIN IN OPPOSITION FOREVER – FIIFI KWETEY

Minister and Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Fiifi Kwetey is optimistic the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) will never come to power.

ONE DEAD IN CAPE COAST POLICE SWOOP

Hours of police swoops in suburbs of the Cape Coast metropolis Thursday turned sour when one of the arrested suspects died after allegedly complaining of ill-health.

OKOE VANDERPUIJE UPBEAT ABOUT CHANCES

The aspiring parliamentary candidate for the Ablekuma South Constituency, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, has said his decision to become a parliamentarian is to afford him the opportunity to extend to a national platform his ideas and experiences that have changed the face of Accra within the last seven years.

GREGORY AFOKO TO FACE MURDER CHARGE

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has received advice from the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department to charge Gregory Afoko and Asabke Alangdi with the murder of the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Adams Mahama.

NO CONCERNS FOR LEADERSHIP PRIZE PACKAGE – Mo IBRAHIM FOUNDATION

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a non-grant making organisation with a focus on good leadership and governance in Africa, is set to award the 2014 winner of the Achievement in African Leadership prize, to a former President of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, in Accra on Friday.

POLICE REMIND PUBLIC OF BAN ON EXPLOSIVES

The Police Administration has reminded members of the public of the prohibition of explosives in the country. It said the Executive Instrument (E.I) 21 of 1999 prohibits the manufacture, possession or carriage of any of the following categories of explosives.

GOV’T TO GO AFTER PRESIDENT KUFUOR’S OFFICIALS

Government has directed the Economic and Organised Crime Office, (EOCO), to investigate all public officials whose actions led to the over payment of over 3.5 million dollars to a private company Calf Cocoa.
BUSINESS HEADLINES
SUSPEND VAT ON AIRFARE NOW – SEC

Executive Chairman of the State Enterprise Commission, Camynta Baezie has called for immediate suspension of the 17.5 percent VAT on domestic air travel, which has been blamed for the low patronage of air transport services in recent times.

SOFTEN YOUR STANCE ON TARIFFS

Finance Minister, Seth Terkper on Wednesday called for “moderation” on the part of industry regarding their “we won’t pay” stance on utility tariffs, saying “a reasonable tariff makes sense for all of us”.

MOODY’S LAUDS POLICY RATE TIGHTENING

Credit rating agency, Moody’s says Monday’s tightening of the Monetary policy rate by the Bank of Ghana as part of measures to suppress and anchor inflation expectations provides a boost for the country’s sovereign credit quality.
GIFEC DISTRIBUTES FISH FINDERS TO FISHERMEN

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) on Thursday distributed fish finders and accessories to forty-five fishermen in and around the Cape Coast Metropolis.

The 2016 elections estimated expenditure and investments into the power sector are the two main threats to economic stability gained over the last few years.

INVESTMENT GUARANTEES WILL ADDRESS ENERGY CRISIS – TERKPER

Finance Minister Seth Terkper has assured Ghanaians of government’s commitment to resolving the energy crisis, maintaining that over 1,053MW of power will be added to the generating capacity over 2016 in a bid to address the energy situation.

JOB CUTS AT STANDARD CHARTERED HIT GHANA STAFF

Standard Chartered Bank Plc’s decision to lay off some of its workers around the world is expected to affect personnel in Ghana, Joy Business sources say.

EXPERT REVEALS SILENT TAXES EMBEDDED IN 2016 BUDGET

Although government appears silent on new taxes in its 2016 budget, Ghanaians should expect to pay more taxes in the coming year, PricewaterhouseCoopers has observed.

TURNING THE COCOA SECTOR INTO A GAME-CHANGER

Cocoa-growing communities, supply chains and national authorities should find ways of working better together to bring lasting improvements to the lives of smallholder farmers, according to the International Cocoa Initiative.

GHANA AIRPORTS COMPANY COMMENDED

Dr Camynta Baeizie, Executive Secretary of the State Enterprises Commission (SEC), has commended the Ghana Airports Company limited(GACL) for making significant financial gains in the year 2014.

HFC REALTY OUTDOORS LATEST HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

HFC Realty Company, a subsidiary of HFC Bank, has opened its latest development to the public, pledging to help reduce the huge housing deficit of 1.7 million.

AGRICULTURE HAS VERY BRIGHT FUTURE – ADONGO

Agriculture in Africa has a very bright future and is the cornerstone for the continent’s socio-economic development, Mr Augustine Adongo, Team Leader, Market Development for Northern Ghana, has said.

BUDGET MUST MAKE ROOM FOR TRANSPARENCY – SEND-GHANA

SEND Ghana, a civil society organisation, has raised concerns over some funding allocations in the 2016 budget presented by the Finance Minister last Friday, saying it did not have sufficient room for openness.

GHANA STRATEGISES ON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

Stakeholders on Wednesday, met at a validation workshop to review and impute into the draft Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Accompanying Measures Strategy.
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
GUINEA PRESIDENT SACKS MINISTER, OFFICIALS OVER VIOLENCE

Guinean President Alpha Conde sacked his interior minister and two other government officials for “gross misconduct”, for their handling of deadly violence that broke out at a religious gathering last weekend.

U.S. CLEARS GENETICALLY MODIFIED SALMON FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

U.S. health regulators on Thursday cleared the way for a type of genetically engineered Atlantic salmon to be farmed for human consumption – the first such approval for an animal whose DNA has been scientifically modified.

FRANCE PUSHES U.N. TO SUPPORT FIGHT AGAINST IS

France wants the United Nations Security Council to push all able states to join the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq after the militants claimed responsibility for downing a Russian plane over Egypt and attacks in Paris, Lebanon, Turkey, and Tunisia.

ITALIANS CHASE ‘MILITANTS’ FOLLOWING US ALERT

U.S. authorities have warned of potential militant attacks in Italy, whose security services are looking for five possible suspects, Italy’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

INDIAN MUSLIMS PROTEST AGAINST DEADLY ISIL ATTACKS

A prominent Muslim group in India organised protests across the country against recent deadly attacks in France, Lebanon, and Turkey by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

CHINA’S NAVY ‘RESTRAINED’ FACING U.S. PROVOCATIONS – ADMIRAL

China’s top admiral said his forces have shown “enormous restraint” in the face of U.S. provocations in the South China Sea, while warning they stand ready to respond to repeated breaches of Chinese sovereignty.

SYRIA PEACE DEAL ELUSIVE AS EVER IN WAKE OF ISLAMIC STATE ATTACKS

Hundreds of innocent people have been killed in spectacular attacks claimed by Islamic State militants from Syria, but diplomats say major powers are no closer to a peace deal to end nearly five years of bloodshed and chaos there.

‘SPIDER IN WEB’ MASTERMIND OF PARIS ATTACKS KILLED IN RAID

The suspected Islamic State mastermind of the Paris attacks was among those killed in a police raid north of the capital, France confirmed on Thursday, bringing an end to the hunt for Europe’s most wanted man.

FIVE DEAD IN PALESTINIAN ATTACKS IN TEL AVIV, WEST BANK

A Palestinian fatally stabbed two people in a Tel Aviv office building and three other people were killed in an attack in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israeli police and the army said.

CHINA SAYS 28 FOREIGN-LED ‘TERRORISTS’ KILLED AFTER ATTACK ON MINE

Chinese security forces in the far western region of Xinjiang killed 28 “terrorists” from a group that carried out a deadly attack at a coal mine in September under the direction of “foreign extremists”, the regional government said on Friday.
SPORTS HEADLINES
GEORGE AFRIYIE NAMED AS GHANA FA VICE PRESIDENT

George Afriyie has been named the Vice President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) following the meeting of the Executive Committee on Thursday.

GHANA LEAGUE TO BE SPONSORED BY UKRAINIAN BEER COMPANY

Reports reaching Citi Sports say the Ghana Football Association (GFA) are in talks with a Ukrainian beer company, Obolon, to be the new headline sponsor of the Ghana Premier League.

2018 WC: BLACK STARS LIKELY TO FACE NIGERIA, CAMEROON IN GROUP STAGE

Five-time World Cup finalists, Nigeria, could well draw arch-rivals Ghana and Cameroon in the group phase of the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup should the FIFA rankings be used to seed teams.

GHANA’S DREAM TEAM HOLD FIRST TRAINING SESSION

Ghana’s Dream Team held their first training session on Thursday ahead of Sundays Mo Ibrahim Governance match against TP Mazembe.